HOW TO MAKE YOGURT CHEESE AND RECIPES FOR YOUR HOMEMADE YOGURT Now that you have made a batch of yogurt, why not use half of it to make some yogurt cheese? This homemade cheese can be used in any recipe that uses store bought cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream.
Simply place the yogurt in a cheese cloth bag, cotton tea towel (not the terry type!) or even a coffee filter. Place the bag in a sieve over a bowl and place in refrigerator for 7-8 hours (or overnight). Basically, the longer you leave it, the thicker the cheese will be. Place the cheese in an airtight container, store in the fridge and use in a week. The whey liquid leftover in the bowl can be used in baking (it can be used as a partial replacement for milk in pancakes and biscuits or as an additive to make your homemade bread fluffy and light). Also, I know of people that will drink the whey (my mom says it's popular in India), add it to smoothies or juices to take advantage of the nutritional benefits. It has even been used to pickle kimchi or sauerkraut. If you still need convincing that this is a SUPER liquid, try diluting one cup of whey with nine cups of water and using it weekly to water your houseplants! Here is a simple (sort of) yogurt cheese recipe: 
Yogurt Cheese Balls in Garlic Dill Oil2 cups of homemade yogurt cheese 1 tsp salt 4 T extra-virgin olive oil 1 clove of garlic, pressed 1 tsp each of chopped fresh dill and crushed red pepper Add salt to yogurt cheese and refrigerate for 1 hour. With wet hands or a small ice cream scooper, roll the yogurt cheese into tablespoon size portions. Place balls on plate, cover with paper towel and refrigerate for four hours. Combine olive oil, garlic, dill and red pepper in measuring cup, whip thoroughly to mix. Place yogurt cheese balls in shallow serving dish, and pour over olive oil mixture. Refrigerate for up to a week of serve immediately! As promised, here are a couple of recipes using homemade yogurt (not cheese!). These recipes were submitted by my good friend Joeleen (she is the kind of good cook I want to be when I grow up!). I've included notes and tips from Joeleen. Joeleen used the Yogourmet Yogurt Maker with the Probiotic Casai Bifidus Starter to make her own delicious homemade yogurt. 
Whole Wheat Banana Yogurt Muffins1 2/3 cups fresh ground hard white wheat flour 1 t baking powder 1 t baking soda 2 T ground flax seed 1 t dough enhancer 1/2 cup butter (Note: Joelene used just a little less than 1/2 cup and the muffins were still rich and tasted great) 2/3 cup natural bran (Note: use your flour mill to grind coarse wheat and separate the bran by sifting the flour) 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1 egg 2/3 cup pureed bananas (Note: If you like a stronger banana taste, add 1/3 cup more) 1/2 cup plain homemade yogurt 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar (or 1/4 cup Xagave) 1 T molasses Makes about 10 muffins Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease or line muffin tins. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder and baking soda. With a pastry blender cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add bran, flax seed, nuts and dough enhancer. In a separate bowl, mix egg, banana, yogurt, sugar and molasses. Add to dry ingredients, stir until just blended. Spoon batter into muffin tins (Note: you can fill up quite high as they don't rise very much). Bake for 20 minutes and cool on rack. Joeleens next recipe produces the richest fudge brownies I have ever tried. The richness comes from using yogurt in the recipe. The addition of nuts makes for a tasty extra! Remember to cool them thoroughly before cutting! 
Fudgy Yogurt Brownies1/2 cup melted choc chips (melt in microwave for 1 min in glass bowl) 1 cup plain homemade yogurt 1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup Xagave) 1/2 cup ground hard white wheat flour 1/4 cup all purpose flour 1/2 tsp dough enhancer 1 T ground flax 1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder 1/4 t baking soda 1/2 cup water Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts Heat oven to 350F. Mix chocolate, sugar and yogurt. In a separate bowl, mix flours, cocoa, dough enhancer, ground flax and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to chocolate mixture. Stir in water. Pour into greased 8 x 8 pan. Bake 20 - 25 minutes. Cool on counter, then place in fridge to completely cool before cutting. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR JOELEEN REGARDING HER RECIPES, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT. |
Now that you have made a batch of yogurt, why not use half of it to make some yogurt cheese? This homemade cheese can be used in any recipe that uses store bought cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream.
